Is VCD forever

[yoshi1668]

Is VCD forever if handle with care?

[Jeomite]

If you mean, if you burn a VCD, will it last forever? Short answer: no, Long answer: maybe.

First it depends on the CDR you are using. If you're using some cheap one, then definitely no. If you're using a good CDR media (that uses good dye, ie FujiFilm CDRs), then the life span will be longer than those cheap ones. But still, it will probably not last forever. There's a chance it can last forever if you keep it in a disclosed jewel case for a forever, and watch/use that CDR only once a few years. =| Because when you read a CDR, it kinda deterroriates as well.

[speedy]

Forever is a long time.

Many major brands claim 100 year life. RICOH has a premium brand that claims 200 years. I would be skeptial about such wild claims. If you don't mishandle, don't play them excessively, don't expose the media to heat or humidity, store them upright one to a jewel case or with at least some protection, not flat or stacked, then your CD's will probably last a "long time" which could in reality mean anywhere from a few years to maybe 30 or more. The truth is nobody knows. The technology hans't been around that long. Of course you avoid cheap no name brands or your media may not last out the year.

[yoshi1668]

Thanks for the advice. But how do I know which CD is 'cheapie' and which one is 'goodie'. I've been buying blank CDR whenever is on sale regardless of brand. Sony, Imation, Maxell, Acer and even CompUSA brand.

[speedy]

I would avoid house brands like CompUSA. You have no idea who made them or what quality control if any was used during their manufacture. The all important layer that actuallly gets "burned" may detoriate more quickly over time, the thickness of the coating may vary more than it does in premium brands and cheap brands may not use the higher quality dyes. They are cheaper for a reason.

Now that prices have dropped like a rock so called "premium" brands aren't that expensive any more. Of the brands you mentioned Sony from my experience were always good. Right now I'm using Verbatim DataLife Plus and Ricoh Platinum. I had a bad experience with a 50 count bulk pack of Imation dics. Failure rate was close to 30%. I sent the remainer back and they replaced them, only this time each disc was in its own jewel case and each of those burned with no problems at all. Probably just hit a bad batch. Your mileage may varry.

I just don't feel saving a couple bucks in worth it, if you want your videos to "last for ever", they probably have a better change if you start with premium media. That's my two cents.

[lafamar]

Handle with care, about 100 years. That's what they say (specialists).
Bye

[ktnwin]

It's all speculation so far.
Why don't we try to answer this question:
HAVE YOU HAD ANY S/X/VCD YOUR BURNED THAT GOES BAD ON YOU?

My answer: NO (I only had 8 months into this stuff).

Others ???

[nfl2k2]

I use these IBM gold lable CD's I bought from Staples. I bought 3 100 packs cause they had them marked from 30$ to 15$. Also, Memorex sells cd-r's cheap and good quality.

[ember]

I'm sure the National Labs around the world - the public funded ppl - would make it public if ever they found an ageing problem with CD-R/RW that has yet been admitted by the manufacturers. So although artificial ageing has been applied to most CD-R/RW (by the companies) the only true way of testing is waiting.

[vitualis]

Perhaps it is fair to say that VCDs on CD-R that are handled with care will last as long if not longer than their functional life span.

If you have a preference for "branded" CD-R/W media, it would be advantageous to do some research on which companies actually produce their own media (e.g., Kodak, Verbatim/Mitsubishi, TDK, a few others). You are almost guaranteed of consistent media quality over different batches. Some other "brands" (e.g., Sony, Imation, Philips) OEM their media production -- thus quality or even media type may not be consistent between batches.

Regards.

[Jeomite]

The 'cheap' CDRs use a crappy dye that will not lost too long. The 'quality' CDRs are the ones made in Japan; Taiyo Yudan factories. Some 'cheap' dye CDRs are CompUSA, PNY... and 'quality' dye CDRs are FujiFilm and *most, not all* Sony and TDKs.

Also, I had personal experience in which I had CDRs(whether (S)VCDs or even plain data CDRs) failing and deterriating, especially the cheap CDRs. On rare occassions, due to bad handling on my own part, I would run into some 'quality' CDRs messing up after a few months.

Informational Links:
http://www.cdmediaworld.com/hardware/cdrom/cd_dye.shtml
http://www.cdmediaworld.com/hardware/cdrom/cd_quality.shtml

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Jeomite on 2001-09-26 23:54:46 ]</font>

[vivisimonvi]

You could always reburn your discs 20 - 50 years from now (just imagine how much a CD-R would cost then). I mean, if it's really that worth it, you could have each generation down the line reburn your VCD's onto new CD-R media (home videos would be the main reason for this I hope). It's not like the actual information on the disc deteriorates, just giving it a new home.

Then again, would we still be using CD-R/DVD-R technology decades from now for that?

[speedy]

The problem is CD's haven't been around for 50 or even 20 years yet, so claims from manufacturers that they will last 100 or even 200 years has yet to be proven in real world conditions. Nobody knows for sure what happens over time and if or not the durability will last.

[AntnyMD]

I think the first commercial music CD was released in the United States in 1981, so thats twenty years this year. As for that actual CD being around today -- who knows?

[vivisimonvi]

My dad bought a Pioneer CD player in the mid-80s (PD-7030 model). He gave it to me that I STILL use and works great. The tray gets stuck so I have to kinda hit it to open up. This player has received a lot of poundings the last few years and is still working great, lol. It plays writeables to my astonishment as well.

All the CD's he has so far works flawlessly (they're almost 20 years old). I think the Beatles were among the first to be put on CD format, those were the first CD's my dad bought.

[ktnwin]

So far, no one said having had a CD going bad on them.
That's the same for me. However, many of my VHS tapes (10+ years) already went bad on me (either could not play or play with lots of video sync. problems).

[nfl2k2]

I had a 50 pack of cd's go bad on me. I made about 30 music cd's that I played in my personal cd player. They were the cheapest looking cdr's i've ever seen. anyways, after a few weeks, when I tried to play the cd's in my cd player, I could hear static in the background and eventually they didn't work at all. I don't know why, but those IBM gold labels from staples work very well compared to my other brands of cd's.

[ember]

Badly burnt CD-Rs may not be readable period. You should always test them before archiving. Then- providing you don't do the usual - scratch, smash, send to surface of sun etc. they should last anywhere between 25-100 years. Cheap brands may suffer more from the authoring than premium